Autoblog

"They want gigantic bricks that handle like elephant dung."

They do, that is what a truck is. They are good at other things. What you said is the equivalent of faulting a Miata for not being able to haul lumber.

Dont by a truck if you want a corner carver.

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And what exactly is wrong with a truck that can haul things, haul ass, and go around a corner? The G8 is the only pickup I'd be remotely interested in. Unlike most pickup owners, I'm not suffering from penile inadequacy and demand the highest tow rating possible, since I know that I tow anything at max it'd be a pair of jetskis or a small boat. So yeah. Keep on buying your big gigantic pickemup truck with it's gigantic towing ability that shows how tiny your wang is. I'd rather drive something fun and useful.

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Nothing is wrong with it in theory. In reality, which we are in, this vehicle is a bad gamble at the wrong time. This niche vehicle is not what is needed by GM and actually feeds the fire of GMs detractors.

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"Keep on buying your big gigantic pickemup truck with it's gigantic towing ability that shows how tiny your wang is"

Also, I dont drive a pick-up, but I can see the lack of marketability for this vehicle. It does not matter that you want or like it. Even you admit that most American's prefer a real pick-up truck.

And...Remember the Ram SRT-10. That beast did all the things you just requested and sold in very small numbers, as did the silly Subaru Brat and Chevy SSR.

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The thing that people (including GM and GM fanboys) seem to be missing here is that people are looking for smaller, more economical vehicles. Gigantic full-size pickups do NOT fall into that category and GM does not have a compact pickup in it's lineup at all.

What GM should do with this vehicle is put a high-spec V6 in it as the std. engine and price it in the mid '20k's, then advertise it to the commercial market as a cheaper, more economic alternative to a full-size truck. It could be the pickup alternative to HHR panel van.

But, since GM is committed to building the cars of the past rather than cars of the future, this will probably never happen. Luckily, both Ford and Nissan seem to understand that small commercial vehicles are going to be a large market segment.

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@Rob

You are an immature POS.

Back On-Topic:

I'm sad that they killed it but I knew it was dead once everything went downhill for auto companies. Face it, nobody (except maybe Rob and even then he probably just wants to bitch about something) would buy it if you look at the G8 sales.

FYI I used to drive a F-150 because, you know I had a small penis but now I drive a G8 GT and have a huge penis! But seriously I used to have an F-150 and now drive a G8 GT.

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I figured this thing was dead as soon as it was announced...

Rob, your reasons for wanting this thing don't make it seem any more useful or any less of a potential failure. This takes the ridiculousness of the CUV trend (take an off-road style vehicle and make it less capable and they'll sell more) one step further. A $30k+ truck that isn't very capable at being a truck? $20k, maybe...

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ckm - agreed but the G8ST was/is in no way an answer to what you are asking for (it would have a V6 and would cost in the low 20s). I agree there is a clear market segment that is being neglected that GM could provide a small pickup to fill. The HHR panel truck does provide some coverage just as the little Ford and Nissan vans will. No one else is addressing the small pickup either so maybe we are wrong and there really isn't a robust market out there just waiting for little pickups.

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I agree with CKM for the most part. I think the ST was a great idea, just not so much as a Pontiac G8. They should have branded it as a Chevy, and given it a 4-banger as the base motor. Price it under $20K to start with for a bare-bones 4-cyl/5-sp model. Make this thing the road-going competition for vehicles like the Ford Ranger, not the F150, and market it towards the commercial market. This thing needs to be a parts-hauler, not an ass-hauler. This thing needs to be for the weekend trips to the home-improvement store, not for weekend trips to the drag strip.

cheap Chevy compact uni-body pick-up truck = good idea.
expensive Pontiac hot-rod pick-up truck = bad idea.

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Good for GM for actually reading the market. I would've loved to see a 'ute on US shores for the novelty of it, but it would have flopped. Casual truck buyers want more than two seats in their pickups, and the G8 GT's 17 real-world MPG would've meant a big functionality trade-off for only 3-4 MPG more than a Silverado/Sierra. If that was worth it to buyers, the hybrid versions of those pickups would be selling better.

BTW, while a 3,500 lb towing capacity sounds substantial, that's the same rating assigned to virtually any minivan, and to most AWD CUVs.

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A couple of factors doomed this vehicle.

1) The American dollar tanked making it less cost effective to import vehicles to the US. On top of that the American market imploded so they have a ton of excess manufacturing capacity available in the US which makes it even more difficult to make a case for importing vehicles. Especially when you are in talks with the UAW looking for concessions. I expect the next G8 will either disappear or be built in North America. Ditto the Saturn Astra.

2) The truck market has consolidated. High gas prices scared the posers away. The people left buying trucks actually need and want a real truck. GM isn't confident that enough people are willing to put their money where their mouth is on this vehicle. Let's face if some guy from Texas named Bubba drove home with one of these they would be laughed at for buying a "make believe" truck. Plus the margins on this truck would probably not be as good as the full size ones.

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for once, Rob and I agree. The G8 ST was a vehicle that was going to fit my needs perfectly. Muddy mountain bikes and beer and camping gear in the back, V8 under the hood, and a mountain road unwinding in front of me. Maybe a small teardrop camper tied to a trailerhitch.

Alas, not to be.

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not without a lot of work.

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Rob, with all do respect (and you get very little from me given your statements), you are a dumbass. Very few people buy sports cars or big trucks because they have a small penis. They buy sports cars a.) because they are car enthusiasts or b.) they like to show off because they have the money. Most truck buyers buy them because a.) they NEED a truck or b.) they just freaking like the American-ness of driving a big truck. My guess is that you have never been someone who actually has a job where you need a truck.

Also, the G8 ST is ugly (in my opinion) and not very useful. Sure, it could haul more than your average camry and get better gas milage than your average Super Duty, but it will not sell. This should be extremely obvious by just looking at how well (or not well) the G8 is selling. The G8 ST would have just thrown fuel on the fire to anti-GM people who say that GM only makes trucks and huge cars with huge engines.

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Rob: The G8 is the only pickup I'd be remotely interested in.

adrenalnjunky: for once, Rob and I agree. The G8 ST was a vehicle that was going to fit my needs perfectly.


Okay that's two sales. Let's see a show of hands. Who would have bought the other ten they would have sold?

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LOL, quite the penis thing you got there. Might check with your shrink about that penis fixation.

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Never mind Rob, maybe you can still get your G8 ST fix by coming to Australia for your next vacation, the latest model has been selling here in its thousands since its introduction in 2006 so they're pretty hard to miss. I guess every country is different, and no disrespect to the full sized pickup, but over here tradesman and enthusiasts alike have been lapping these things up since 1949 and it doesn't look like stopping any time soon. Typical GM taking too long to get products to the market, look at the mess they made of the 2004 GTO; it was on sale here as a 2001 (and even then was based on a 1997 sedan). How well would the 1964 GTO have sold if they had waited until 1971 to release it? Whatever happened to that company? Forty years ago they led the world in practical automotive innovation for the masses, now they can't make a decision to save themselves.

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